Falling in Love with the Oregon Coast (National Parks Trip #3)

This post represents another installment in the series documenting our West Coast National Parks trip in the summer of 2017.  Alan and I, along with our 18 year old daughter, Kyra, logged a total of 8,513 memorable miles of adventure over the course of five and a half weeks during the months of July and August.

Day #21 of our expedition dawned clear and sunny.  Alan, Kyra and I were looking forward to crossing into Oregon and exploring along the coast.  We couldn’t have asked for more beautiful weather.  Looking back on our photos of the trip, I realized that we were extremely fortunate weather-wise.  With a tight schedule to keep, we wouldn’t have let bad weather derail our plans; still, it was such a pleasure to be out and about on so many gorgeous days.

Before we headed up the coast for the day, we had planned on a short and easy hike over to Stout Grove – accessible directly from our campground in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.  Kyra decided to sleep in and skip the hike.  Whether she was well and truly tired or simply needing a break from being with her parents 24/7, we’ll never know.  You can’t always tell what lurks in the minds of teenagers.   On to Stout Grove!

Stout Grove was named in memory of Frank Deming Stout, the founder of Knapp, Stout & Company – one of the largest lumber companies in the world back in the 1870’s and 1880’s.  Stout’s wife, Clara, donated the 44 acre grove of 300’ tall, old growth redwoods to the Save the Redwoods League in honor of her husband after his death in 1927.

The foot bridge was not as rickety as it looked.

Our early morning walk to the grove was quiet and delightfully pleasant.  The foot bridge across the Smith River allowed us to enjoy the lovely views surrounding the crystal clear water.  The setting was one I could have easily enjoyed for several hours.  The thought of setting up a camp chair at the river’s edge that would allow me to savor my morning coffee, followed by several hours of reading for pleasure in the company of the river, was exceptionally appealing.  But, it was on to Stout Grove!

The amazingly clear Smith River

Entering the grove felt like entering a cathedral.  Muted conversation seemed appropriate and the sense of reverence was almost palpable.  Scientists say that a mature forest of redwoods is comprised of trees that average 500 to 1,000 years old, and individual trees can live longer than 2,000 years.  Indeed, strolling the quiet pathways of Stout Grove felt to me like spending time among royalty from ancient civilizations.

Alan, walking among the royal giants

Back at the campground, we quickly packed a picnic lunch, and all three of us jumped in the truck for a trip up the coast into Oregon.  Just over the border, in the town of Brookings, we passed Woof’s Dog Bakery.  Even though we didn’t have any canine critters with us, I would have loved to stop just to see what kind of items were in the bakery case.  Apparently, Woof’s also carries pet food and supplies, and has its very own self-service “pet wash.”  If we had extra days built into the itinerary, I really do think I would have stopped, but we were working hard enough as it was to fit in everything we wanted to see and do.

A drive-by photo of Woof's in Brookings, Oregon

Just north of Brookings, our first stop was the Whaleshead Viewpoint.  Close to shore, there’s a sea stack that resembles a whale.  (A sea stack is an isolated offshore rock outcrop, and they’re quite abundant along the Oregon coast.)  Apparently, when waves hit a rock cut in this particular sea stack, the “whale” appears to be spouting.  I say “apparently” because it was such a calm day that no spouting was witnessed – by the three of us, anyway.  The darn whale probably waited until we turned our backs.

It does kinda sorta look like a whale - if you have a good imagination!

Our northernmost stop of the day was at Cape Blanco State Park, a bit outside of Port Orford.  Throughout the day, we were enjoying one amazingly scenic view after another.  Oregon’s coast is breathtakingly beautiful, and it didn’t take long for all of us to fall in love with it.  The plentiful sea stacks add an exquisite touch to what would, otherwise, be a typical ocean view.  Fun fact: The Oregon Beach Bill, signed into law in July 1967, established a permanent public easement for access to and recreation along the entire coast of Oregon.  Even if coastline property is privately owned, the public has the right to walk the beach from wherever the line of vegetation ends down to the water.  The Beach Bill included a provision for public access to the state’s many beaches at routine intervals along the coast.  (There are at least 19 State Parks along Oregon’s coast, and every single one we visited was a gem.)  Due to the foresight of the state’s leaders, this means that you can walk the accessible coastline in Oregon in its entirety from Washington all the way south to California.  What an incredible gift of public access!

A stunning view of the Pacific Ocean at Cape Blanco State Park

After turning around at Cape Blanco and heading back south, eagle-eyed Kyra spotted a sweet little beach that we must have missed on the northbound trip.  It did take us a while to figure out how to get to it.  As it turned out, the entrance to Arizona Beach State Recreation Site was actually east of Highway 101, and the entrance road circled around under the highway.  The setting was magnificent, and we scarfed down our picnic lunch so that we could explore the beach.

I don’t know if this is a lightly used access point or if plenty of people saw Arizona Beach but couldn’t figure out how to get to it.  All I can tell you is that, on that glorious mid-summer day, we had nearly the entire beach to ourselves – most definitely our kind of place!  We spent quite a bit of the afternoon there, wandering along the beach, taking family photos, and quietly sitting and contemplating the wonders of nature.  I can just about guarantee that our next trip along Oregon’s coast will include a return visit to Arizona Beach.

Incredibly scenic Arizona Beach

Our family has always enjoyed the beach.  When Ryan was less than two years old, Alan and I remember pulling him along the beach on the coast of South Carolina in his plastic snow sled.  Since the locals didn’t have much experience with snow or sleds, Ryan was quite the attraction.  He had tons of fun – right up until the moment a rogue wave washed over him and his sled, and he came up sputtering and crying.  His distress must have been short-lived because he’s been at home on and near the water ever since.   As a parent, it was a relief and a privilege to see him launch himself successfully into adulthood, even if it meant that he aged out of traveling with us.   But that didn’t stop my heart from hurting from his absence on this third and final National Parks family trip.  Arizona Beach was an amazing find that I know he would have loved.

I can see Ryan in his camp chair enjoying the solitude at Arizona Beach.

We returned to our campsite at Jedediah Smith State Park to fix ourselves some supper and get packed up for the next morning’s departure.  When we were finished, we headed back up to Brookings to catch sunset at Harris Beach State Park.  Harris Beach is one of Oregon’s splendid State Parks situated on the coast.  Sea stacks – magnificent during daylight hours – bring a sense of wonder and magic to the coast at sunset.  Mother Nature put on quite a show for us, and we were in no hurry to leave.  If it is at all possible to squeeze out every single drop of pleasure from any given day in the great outdoors, I do believe we were as successful as any mere mortals could be.

Sunset at Harris Beach State Park

The next day, we would reluctantly leave Jed Smith and Redwoods National and State Parks, and head up the Oregon coast to Bandon, and then over and down to Griffin Park in Grants Pass.  The campground at Griffin Park would be base camp for our upcoming visit to Crater Lake National Park.  Let's see, that's four National Parks down and five to go.  The adventure continues.